Dec 31, 2012 - Tasmanie (vlucht vanaf Melbourne)

We hebben ongeveer 3.000 km rond getoerd tussen Sydney en de omgeving van Melbourne. In het terugrijden hebben we een kangoeroe voorbij gestoken die aan het springen was in onze rijrichting. Dat beest ging goed vooruit, zo'n 40 km/uur. We hebben braaf de wagen teruggeven om dan door te vliegen naar Tasmania, meer bepaald Lauceston. Dit is de 2de grootste stad in Tasmania en telt een aantal mooie gebouwen. We hebben hier de overgang van oud naar nieuw doorgebracht. De Art Gallery is een bezoek waard.

Apr 3, 2012 - Launceston - the 50's Live

Welcome back – After my stay in Hobart I crossed Tasmania by bus to the river port of Launceston on the north end of the island. There I stayed in the Batman-Fawkner Hotel. Once the elite hotel of Tasmania, it hosted the king of England in its heyday. Alas, no longer, or the geezer could not have afforded it. Batman (no, not that Batman) was to become one of the founders of Melbourne. Nearby is a lovely city park and The Design Center, where a number of artists display crafts created from wood. It’s a stunning exhibit of what can be done...

Jan 31, 2012 - December/January

December/January: Here are some of my adventures from the past couple of months! Work: Needless to say work in December was very easy with it being the end of the school year. Most teachers left games, drawing or videos for kids to do at the end of the year. Also, on many occasions my teaching day consisted of watching students practice their Christmas concerts. It was easy money that’s for sure; however, the last week or so of the school year, work ended up being extremely slow and I only got called 4 days out of 9. School holidays last...

Jan 15, 2012 - Cataract gorge Launceston

The main tourist attraction in Launceston is Cataract Gorge Reserve which is a river gorge sculptured by the South Esk river and is a cross between the Strid and Symmonds Yat. In the middle of the gorge is a large “basin” or natural waterhole where you can swim, surrounded by grassed areas and a free 50m outdoor shallow swimming pool, cable chair suspended across the gorge to a café and more formal garden area and many tracks and trails of different standards up and down the gorge. It was a lovely spot and another lovely sunny day. We...

Apr 11, 2011 - Launceston

Well we spent our first night under a doona since last winter; welcome to Tasmania. Today was very cold but only a few showers so didnt affect our day. Cataract Gorge is very pretty even on an overcast day and we braved the chairlift for the best view. We visited a couple of the tourist precincts and enjoyed a couple of very nice providore/gallery type shops with some really nice riverside locations. \ Feel I could live here. It is very historical and a lot of old wooden but attractive houses, so many perched on the hillside with good...

Mar 31, 2011 - Sunny At Cradle Mountain

Our cabin was toasty warm all night. Left early this morning to walk in Cradle Mountain Park. Peter informed us Cradle Mountain only gets sun 18 days a year and at reception they told us they had 3 days last week. Considering the cold and rain yesterday, we are hoping for sun! Cradle Mountain is a national park and World Heritage area. Cradle Mountain is 5,068 feet high but is not the highest peak. The shuttle bus driver into the park informed us it was 4C inside his camper this morning and he had heard in the area last night it was 0 to...

Feb 24, 2011 - Launceston

Launceston – 14 February to 21 February (7 nights) The 88km drive from Devenport to Launceston was pleasant without being spectacular and was good full width, bitumen all the way. We are staying in a tiny place called Hadspen, which is about 10 minutes drive from Launceston CBD. Hadspen comprises 3 shops and a garage of sorts and maybe a hundred homes alongside the South Esk River. It’s once again, very neat and tidy, which is becoming something of a Tassie trademark. Contrary to Wendy and Phil, we have decided to do Tasmania clockwise,...

Jan 6, 2011 - Day 10 - Kelso Sands

We setout for Launceston again this morning, to check out the cable hang gliding. Cable hang gliding involves speeding down a 500 metre length of cable strapped to a hang glider suspended from the top of an old quarry. It was tonnes of fun! Tim, Bek, Rachel, Lise and Chris all had a go while Peter and Johanna were the camera crew watching the action from a safe position below. After hang gliding we returned to Cataract Gorge for a picnic lunch before hitting the shops in Launceston again. It was a very hot day and while Bek, Lise and...

Jan 5, 2011 - Day 9 - Kelso Sands

It rained very heavily overnight, but cleared for a beautiful sunny day. We slept in this morning and enjoyed a lazy day in the caravan park. We hired the bikes in the park in the afternoon and had fun tearing around the park. Apart from that brief activity, the day was filled with reading, play dough, sleeping and eating. Peter set up the water filter as we had run out of the tank water we had brought with us from Melbourne and the local water tasted disgusting. However, while the water filter made a little difference the water was still...

Jan 4, 2011 - Day 8 - Kelso Sands

We are finally starting to get into holiday mode after 1 week away. Peter and Lise are now not waking up at 5:30 in the morning ready for a bike ride and manage to sleep in quite well. However, Tim still hasn’t got the hang of going to the showers here (and perhaps neverwill) having to return to the caravan 3 times for various bits and pieces he had forgotten to take to the shower, and still having to return wet as he forgot to take his towel ! After breakfast we drove into Launceston to spend the day at the Cataract Gorge Reserve. Cataract...

Jan 3, 2011 - Day 7 - Kelso Sands

Vital Statistics Kelso Sands CaravanPark Play Equipment : 5/10 Daily Diary While everyone else slept in Lise and Bek went for a run this morning. We spent a quiet morning at the caravan park, doing some washing and general tidying up while the kids played on the jumping pillow and read. The caravan park has almost emptied today as most families head back to work in Devonport. After lunch we travelled 15K to Beauty Point to Platypus House and Seahorse World. Platypus House is dedicated to the research and understanding of Platypus. There are...

Jan 2, 2011 - Day 6 - Kelso Sands

We enjoyed a slow start to the morning and headed off around 10am out for a day in Launceston. On the way we stopped at Brady lookout (named in honour of an escaped convict we would later learn about on Sarah Island) for some spectacular views of the Tamar. We were side tracked by an unexpected detour to a Swiss Village in nearby Grindelwald. The kids enjoyed a wild ride in an “aqua bubble” (see pictures) and then morning tea from a coffee shop in the village. From there we travelled to Longford, South of Launceston, and Woolmers homestead....